Scuba divers often need to rely on unknown quality air sources when having their high pressure tanks filled with air. If the compressor employed to fill a scuba tank is not properly set up, operated and maintained, contaminants may be introduced into air fed to the scuba tank. For instance, if the compressor's air intake is positioned too close to the exhaust outlet, carbon monoxide may be introduced into the air flow and thus into the air tanks. Further, if the compressor is not well maintained, both carbon monoxide and/or oil vapors may be introduced into the air through internal engine pathways.
While some air contaminants will taste and smell foul, other contaminants can be odorless and tasteless, e.g. carbon monoxide. Prior to diving, most careful divers will test the air in a dive tank to determine if it exhibits any unusual taste or smell. If such an off-taste or smell is detected, the cautious diver will not use the tank. Unfortunately, there is no way carbon monoxide can be detected by such an empirical test.
The prior art evidences a number of self-contained gas detection units for insertion into gas flow conduits. U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,499 to Fehder describes a device for the detection of carbon dioxide in a concentration of more than 2% in a gas flow. Fehder employs a hygroscopic high boiling, transparent, water miscible liquid and a pH sensitive indicator. Changes in the pH indicator can be determined by a user viewing the detector through a small window. U.S. Pat. No. 3,585,963 to Hiszpanski discloses a similar structure for inclusion in a fluid flow system wherein a moisture indicator, by Change of color, can be viewed through a small viewing window. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,537,519 to Yablick and 4,365,627 to Wing both describe gas flow canisters wherein a state of contamination of a filter element is detectable through a viewing window or aperture. A similar structure is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,146,531 wherein a paper gas detector is positioned near a viewing window within a gas passage canister. When the indicator paper changes color, such change can be detected by the user by viewing the paper.
While all of the above prior art describes various fluid contamination detectors, none are designed for application to a scuba unit. For instance, scuba units employ multiple hose connections that are of the quick connect/disconnect variety. Those connectors are gas tight and assure female/male and or male/female air tight connections. However, they do not assure any particular relative angular orientation as between the units being connected. Thus, the provision of a window or limited viewing aperture, as suggested by the prior art, for viewing a contamination detector, can not be safely used in a scuba apparatus as the window portion may be aligned so as to be pointed away from the user's direction of vision. Furthermore, during use, such a windowed detector may become rotated. It is vital in scuba applications that safety equipment be always clearly visible to the user and, in no way, obscured.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a gas contamination detector specifically designed for use in scuba apparatus.
It is another object of this invention to provide a gas detector for scuba apparatus wherein quick connect/disconnect connectors are employed.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a gas contamination detector for scuba apparatus wherein the contamination detector is always viewable by the diver.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a gas contamination detector for scuba apparatus which requires no modification to the scuba apparatus.